
Shut schools down says COSAS
Children need to be removed from classrooms immediately – as one life lost is one life too many, writes Douglas Ngobeni, COSAS spokesperson

Children need to be removed from classrooms immediately – as one life lost is one life too many, writes Douglas Ngobeni, COSAS spokesperson
Scientists have been working furiously to find a vaccine against Covid-19, and initial findings show positive results from the United Kingdom trial where the vaccine was tested on 1 077 healthy adults.

Eating healthy is about understanding the ingredients in your food. Don't be fooled by confusing labels, writes Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla.

The Health Minister has expressed concern at the Covid-19 fatigue that has set in amongst South Africans

For mild Covid-19 cases, “virus cultures are generally only positive for eight to nine days after symptom onset,” says Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize.

As pharmaceutical companies scurry to generate a vaccine for Covid-19, medical experts say it should be made available to health workers first.

Important advances in COVID-19 research, including promising data on new treatments, were announced at the 23rd International Aids Conference.

Deborah Birx, a member of President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), told the 23rd International AIDS conference that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, they have continued to achieve most of their HIV sustainable development goals set for 2020.

Experts say that testing a Covid-19 vaccine on the continent does not mean that Africans are being used as guinea pigs.

Systemic racism has left people of colour exposed and unprotected against global health threats such as HIV for decades. These inequities are magnified by the disparity seen in Covid-19 health outcomes.

Ongoing environmental shifts is among the social factors driving the HIV/Aids pandemic and needs a robust intervention, experts agree.

Children remain vulnerable despite gains in HIV prevention and treatment

The World Health Organization and UNAIDS has warned that if efforts are not made to mitigate health services and supply interruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic,the disruption of antiretroviral therapy could cause 500 000 more deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020–2021.

"In the face of a seemingly hopeless scientific and humanitarian challenge, scientists and activists joined together to accelerate the development of breakthrough treatment and biomedical prevention tools," reads the 23rd International Aids Conference website.

“Communities are important – as some of great ideas might not generally come from the top, but they can come from the bottom,” says Gregorio Millett of the American Foundation for Aids Research.